The Engagement
by OliviaSalvatore
Summary: When Stefan and Elena get engaged, Damon begins to lose hope. Of course. It would always be Stefan. Damon tries to ignore the pain in his chest and drinks miserably. Then Damon and Elena become closer. Does Damon stand a chance? Or will Elena choose Stefan in the end?
1. Chapter 1

Elena went to Mystic Grill, twisting the ring on her finger. It held a diamond and was gorgeous. Part of her thought that the ring was a little much, like the ring held more value than their love, which was ridiculous. She loved him. She always would love him. She's loved him ever since she met him, really. Elena wondered what his brother would say when he found out. He'd be devastated. Heartbroken. She was afraid to see the look on his face. Just then her fiancé's brother walked into the Grill, and she covered up the ring, wanting to tell him herself instead of him seeing the ring and reacting. He walked over to her and sat across from her.

"Hey, Elena," he greeted.

She gave him a small smile. "Hi, Damon."

"Is there something you would like to tell me?"

Elena's eyes widened, and her heart was pounding rapidly. "What- What do you mean?"

"I mean how you got Stefan to go girl shopping."

Relief flooded through Elena. "Well, you know Caroline. She can be very persuasive."

"What did you think I meant?" Damon questioned.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter."

He reached over and grabbed her ring - less hand. "Hey. I'm always here for you. You can tell me."

Elena hesitated, knowing that this could ruin her friendship with Damon. "I thought for a moment that you knew. That Stefan told you."

"Told me what?" he asked.

She could see the fear and pain in his eyes. She knew that he guessed it was about her and Stefan. "You know what, forget it."

"Elena…" Damon sighed softly. "If it is important, tell me."

Elena took a deep breath. "I'm engaged." There. She said it. It felt good to let it out. The heavy guilt for not telling him disappeared from her shoulders, only leaving a broken heart as she saw the heartbreak in his eyes.

"When is the date?" he asked after a moment.

"Next month," she answered quietly.

"Oh," Damon said.

"Yeah. Look, Damon, I'm sorry. I know it is sudden. It surprised me, too, but he asked. And I- I love him, Damon."

"It was always going to be Stefan."

Elena looked down. "It isn't going to affect our lives much. I'll still be living with you both. A marriage isn't going to change that. And we'll still be friends. We will still be friends, won't we, Damon?"

"Yeah, Elena," Damon said, still sounding dazed and disbelieving. "We will still be friends." He got up.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk." And with that, a miserable Damon walked out of the Grill.

Marriage? She's marrying him? In a month, he will be her brother-in-law! Damon let out a scoff as he walked down the dark alley. Why did he ever think that he could possibly get the girl? Villains don't get happy ending. Only heroes do, and Damon Salvatore was certainly not a hero. What did it matter anyways? There wasn't a chance in hell that she would choose selfish Damon instead of saint Stefan.

Someone entered the alley and shouted, "Hey, what are you doing in my alley?"

"Your alley?" He laughed. "Sorry buddy, but I don't see a name tag. And you picked the wrong day to bother me." Damon vamp sped over to the teenager, roughly 19 years old. He slammed him against the wall, hand on the guy's throat, choking him. "What should I do to you? Rip your heart out? Drain you of your blood? Snap your neck? Which do you think?"

"Don't hurt me," the guy choked out.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sweet sound of you choking."

"Don't hurt me," he repeated.

"Don't hurt you?" Damon frowned. "But I have to. This is who I am. And I don't have any reason to not do it. The girl that wanted me to be the better man is marrying my brother. How messed up is that? So I can't not kill you. Doing good isn't in me. It never has been." He sank his fangs into the guy's neck, and he drank. He enjoyed the warm blood that went down his throat. Damon pulled away, and the guy almost fell from blood loss. He compelled, "Forget that this ever happened." Damon wiped the blood off of his lips and went home.

When he entered the Salvatore Boarding House, he saw Elena sitting on the couch. She looked at him as he entered.

"Damon, what did you do?" she asked softly.

Damon sat down by her. "What makes you think I did anything?"

"Because that is what you do. I mean, think about it, Damon. Every time there is a bump in the road, you lash out."

"What if I didn't?" he asked, looking at her. "What if there was no bump?"

"There always is," Elena said quietly where no human could here.

Damon looked at the fire in the fireplace. "For the record, the guy's not dead. I thought you should know." Damon got off the couch and went to his room, ignoring Elena's call for him to come back.


	2. Chapter 2

That night, Elena was curled up in Stefan's arms, but her thoughts were on the older Salvatore brother. She felt guilty for hurting him, but they could still talk and hang out. Hopefully. Elena was worried that he would ignore her. Or not want to be her friend anymore. She was afraid to lose him. She couldn't handle it if she lost anyone else.

"Hey. Are you alright? You look lost in thought," Stefan said.

Elena smiled up at him. "Yeah. Everything is fine. I'm just thinking. Remembering." She leaned up and kissed him softly.

Stefan nodded. He pressed his lips to hers and moved them so Stefan was leaning over her. "I love you."

Elena's heart fluttered at the words, even though she had heard him say it a hundred times already. "I love you too." She let out a small sigh. "I told Damon."

"Oh?" Stefan asked. "What did he say? How did he react?"

"How do you think?" Elena asked. "He's heartbroken."

"Let's not worry about Damon. Okay? Let's just enjoy the peace and happiness. We should celebrate tomorrow. Maybe we could go back to your family's cabin?"

Elena beamed, but a ghost of sadness was on her face. "Okay. I like it. The place has memories."

"You mean of me looking hot in your great- grandfather's clothes?" Stefan sounded amused.

"Beyond hot," Elena said before giggling. She leaned up and kissed him. "There were other memories too. Some not so great, but others were." So how long will we stay there?"

"For the weekend. Maybe longer."

Elena nodded.

"Get some rest. You look tired," said the concerned, younger Salvatore. He kissed her forehead and held her close.

Stefan was asleep faster than Elena. She was exhausted but was too busy thinking about Damon. About what he would do. She knew she should stop thinking about him. She was engaged to Stefan. She should relax and clear her mind of him. But she couldn't shake him. No matter how hard she tried.

When Elena woke up, she was alone. Frowning, she threw on her shirt and jeans. She went downstairs and heard someone in the kitchen cooking. She smelled the breakfast. Elena almost let out a moan, and she hadn't even eaten it yet. She would so thank Stefan for this. Elena entered the kitchen and froze. Damon Salvatore was preparing the breakfast. Not Stefan.

"Damon?" Elena questioned.

"Morning," Damon said, not looking at her. "Breakfast?"

"What's this for?"

"You're gonna be a Salvatore soon. As much as I hate the engagement, I'm not gonna screw it up. I'm cooking one nice breakfast, and then I'm out of here," Damon said.

"Where's Stefan?"

Damon rolled his eyes and put food on a plate. "He's out. I didn't ask." He put the plate in front of Elena and poured her a glass of orange juice. "Eat up. Enjoy." Damon made himself a plate. "Stefan's out of luck if he doesn't get here in a minute. It will be cold."

Elena took a sip of her orange juice. "Damon, we should talk."

"There is nothing to talk about, Elena. You chose Stefan. Simple as that."

"Don't make this harder than it has to be," she said, eating her omelette.

"I'm not," Damon got up and took care of his plate, not looking at her.

"Damon…"

"What, Elena?" Damon questioned, emotionally tired. He really did not know what to do anymore. He loved her, but she wasn't his. She never would be. Did she not see how perfectly they matched.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't. I hope you enjoyed the meal." Damon started to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" Elena asked.

"Away from here. To Ric's probably. You two can have the place to yourselves," he said, his face darkening.

Elena sighed softly. "We are going to my family's lake house this weekend. You will have the place to yourself. You don't need to go."

Damon looked at her. "I want to." He walked away and towards Ric's place.


	3. Chapter 3

As Damon knocked on Ric's door, Ric said, "I'm coming, Damon..." Only Damon ever showed up on his door with the exceptions of occasional but rarely Elena. The door opened, revealing a tired ex(sorta) vampire hunter. "What are you doing here?"

"Just came to share the news if you haven't heard." The blue eyed vampire looked at his best friend with a pained look in his eyes. He let out a deep sigh and casually crossed his arms, a flask in the grasp of one of his hands.

"What news?" Alaric asked, confusion evident in his voice. He had certainly not heard anything from anyone lately and was recently feeling neglected. Though maybe that was for the best.

"Elena agreed to marry Stefan," Damon said miserably.

"Isn't it a bit early for that?"

"You'd think," he muttered, his eyes lowering as he bit back some very bitter and impolite responses. Usually he wouldn't hold them back, but he was too tired to share all of his sarcastic commentary.

Ric sighed. "I'm sorry, Damon."

"Don't be. I can handle it. As long as I keep drinking...:"

"Well come on in," Ric said and went to the kitchen. He pulled out some bourbon as he knew it was Damon's favorite.

Damon walked in and sat on the couch as Ric brought over the bourbon. "Thanks, Ric."

"No problem," Ric said as he poured them both a glass.

Damon sighed and sipped his glass, miserable

"Look, there's still time for her to choose you" Ric said, hating the sight of his friend miserable.

Damon scoffed. "Right. Doubtful"

"Just talk to her a bit. Okay?"

Damon nodded and sipped his bourbon. "Thanks, Ric."

"Anytime" Ric said "I don't like seeing you miserable."

"Well, I don't like feeling it." Damon replied. "Mind if I crash here tonight?"

"You're welcome anytime, but you can't avoid them forever."

"I know. I know. I just don't want to hear their heated passion in Stefan' s room"

Ric wrinkled his nose. "Can we not talk about Elena's sex life?"

Damon chuckled. "Yeah, sure, buddy. I'm gonna go get some more bourbon. I have a feeling I'll be here a while."

Ric nodded. "Alright. And I'm gonna grab some groceries. I'm running on expired food."

Damon pulled out a hundred dollar bill. "Here"

"I dont need your money"

"Oh, I know. But teacher's pay checks are crap anyways. And you're being a great friend. So I'll do the same"

Ric nodded and took the money. "See you later."

Damon and Ric left the apartment. Damon went to get more bourbon, and Ric drove over to the Mystic Groceries.

Elena was with Caroline Forbes, sitting at a table in Mystic Grill. Elena was getting tired of the questions but also loved her friend even more for her opinions.

"So Damon is cool with this? Not that it matters. He can go to Hell." Caroline said. "I just find it surprising bodies haven't started dropping yet."

"He's not a terrible person" Elena defended

"Oh come on. Like the first instant after you told him wasn't you worrying about what he would do as a reaction." The blonde scoffed a bit.

Elena opened her mouth to protest but stopped once she realized that was true.

"See? Even you're on the anti Damon train subconsciously" Caroline grinned.

Elena sighed. "You should have seen his face, Care. He's hurt"

"So what? You shouldn't let him ruin your time with Stefan" Caroline fell silent and observed her friend. "I know you care about him. But this isn't about him. Hearts break all of the time. It's about the unification ceremony between you and your soulmate!"

"Stefan and I are going on a trip up to the cabin this weekend. We are leaving at about two" Elena said, checking her phone. It was 11:00.

"Sounds like fun! I cant believe the wedding is so soon. But I guess money isn't an issue" Caroline smiled. "And why wait? You two are perfect for each other"

"Yeah. After all, I don't have a perfect June wedding planned out" Elena teased.

Caroline let out a laugh. "I almost forgot about that. I really had it all planned out, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. You had the perfect fairytale wedding" Elena said

Caroline smiled a bit before it fell. "I guess it's not going to happen though. No one loves me long enough to stick around forever." The thought of Klaus Mikaelson ran through her brain 'However long it takes'. She shook him out of her mind and smiled at Elena a little. "It's okay, though. Maybe when the right guy comes along, I'll know. I'll have my Cinderella dream."

"I'm sure you will, Care" The brunette told her blonde best friend with a small smile. She looked down at the ring on her finger and rubbed it in thought. She sighed softly, a smile on her face as she remembered when he had proposed.

"You seem really happy" Caroline said. "It looks good on you"

Caroline was right. She was happy. Very. Though there was still a part of her mind that kept getting drawn to a certain blue eyed vampire, no matter how hard she tried to shake him. He always just kept taunting her in the background, making her question things.


End file.
